(12-17-2019, 07:15 AM)Thexare Wrote: Discovery has historically been very big on bureaucracy and that's not attractive to new players, or to an aging playerbase that has other things to do in their lives.
The only thing that tipped the scales for me joining this game was the idea that the story could be changed by the players. I had heard that this world changed with the people. I had some Idea in my head that if, say, the Nomads attacked Liberty, then there would be actual damage to things in the next patch. I honestly thought this game was going to be the kind of game I was searching for my entire life.
Turns out that that was a lie.
You're being sarcastic right?
Where did you get the idea that if some nomad players decided to shoot stuff in liberty, that would be reflected in the next patch update?
How would you prevent that entire houses and all of other players accomplishment/stories/factions get wiped out by a few dickheads?
How would you decide what gets built in to the mod and what wouldn't?
How would you keep this enjoyable enough for developers that they'd be willing to keep running after players ideas of what should happen?
How would you find the manpower to do it?
How would you prevent such a system from devolving into some crock story situation that everypartyinvolved absolutely hates? (cough cough IMG)
If you really want what you said you did, you need to start answering all these questions.
So far I've seen no serious attempts to answer any of these questions from the people who want something like that.
I'll take this one!
I came to the place with the same impression, it seems like the most logical thing to do with a place like this really, within the confines of what is possible. The thing is, what genuinely is possible seems to have always been kept in a shadow.
The answer is to systemize! Everything can be controlled and balanced by a system. Some thing's can be set off limits, while other thing's opened up to the avenue of player exerted change. In many ways, the prospect of coming to a game, and forming a group with friends to do something epic is exactly what may entice people to come here.
What gets built into the mod would depend on what's possible in game. If station's were mortal, and finally sieged to a point where they are essentially a dead wreck, looks like RCR's can be used to claim and reactivate a station for another faction. Factions can also RCR for new bases, etc.
Keep it enjoyable for the devs? Well they'd get to observe the happenings, do the moving of the assets, even they would be following player driven changes like the rest of the player base if they were following a system.
Finding manpower! That's a wicked question! When was the last time we saw notices looking for people who can work on this stuff, or people to be GM's! Do we players know exactly how many staff there is now? So to do a system like that and allow for more player driven changes/investments, how many more people do we need? Half a dozen? A dozen? more? Finding people won't be a problem once its decided to start looking.
Prevent crock stories like with the IMG? Easy! The very same system I suggested. If IMG could have actually taken the actions they RP'd, under the system I proposed, they'd have been able to challenge over Aland, even if if was deferred to the end of the war, and siege the base, or siege Bretonian NPC battleship bases nearby, maybe cruisers, etc. So, they'd have had their chance to actually form alliances, and actually try to either defend or retake the station, and actually try to do their best to recruit people, use their resources as best they could figure out, strategize. A bunch of factions would have been invovled in what would have been an epic battle to see how it turned out. IMG could have also used the POB there to contribute to their side, so really allowing it to happen in a more real way would have made things progress much more realistically, even if they'd still lost. And if not, well Bretonia would have had to find another way at the time to deal.
The problem ther was, IT DIDN'T MATTER because it was determined a year in advance that the push was going to make it to New London, and that Leeds was to be lost. If it had been allowed to unfold freely, and matter, Bretonia would have had to do something else or take the hit. Of course, under the same system, Bretonia would have been able to take its chances on attacking into Leeds and pushing the lines back way before that. TLDR, a system would make sure it was fair, and more realistic! And create in game activity out of major changes. People came out in droves when it looked like there might be a real battle over Aland. I don't understand why we don't have a situation like that on the go all the time. Under a system, they'll come and go on their own.
![[Image: G38aJ6J.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/G38aJ6J.jpg)